Local officials in Hong Kong together pour out the votes from the voting ballot before counting the votes on September 19, 2021 as the city held its Hong Kong Election Committee subsector election. Photo: IC

 

Two men and one woman in Hong Kong were arrested by local law-enforcement authorities on Tuesday as they allegedly violated the local ordinance for calling on people to cast blank votes at the upcoming election, and the investigation is still ongoing and further operations can't be excluded. 

The operation came after Hong Kong Security Secretary Chris Tang denounced a call by Ted Hui Chi-fung, the recently absconded former opposition lawmaker, who publicly instigated others to cast blank votes in the election for Legislative Council in December. Tang called the behavior "despicable and unlawful." 

The three people, from 29 to 65 years old, allegedly violated the article of Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. The article says it's illegal to incite another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote, by activity in public during election period, according to a statement from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). They reposted the posts on the internet to call on the public to cast blank votes, and the authority took away several smartphones during the operation and the arrestees are now all on bail for further probe. 

The investigation is still ongoing, the ICAC said, noting that there may be further action. 

The ICAC told the Global Times in an email on Wednesday that it will closely watch any conduct of manipulating or sabotaging the election, including the behavior of instigating another person to cast blank votes or invalid votes, and the authority will resolutely enforce the law.

The nomination period for the seventh-term LegCo election in Hong Kong will run from October 30 to November 12, and the election will be held on December 19, with a total of 90 members, including 20 from geographical constituencies, 30 from functional constituencies and 40 from the Election Committee constituency, to be returned.

The latest operation of the ICAC came after Security Secretary Chris Tang said in an article on Monday that anyone who uses public activities to incite another person not to vote, or cast an invalid vote during the election period, including any form of communication to the public or distribution of any material to the public, regardless of whether the act is done in Hong Kong or elsewhere, it's an illegal activity. The person could be sentenced to three years in prison and fined $HK200,000. Tang said those illegal acts sabotaging the election may also violate the national security law for Hong Kong. 

Tang made the comment after Hui, one of the members of fleeing opposition lawmakers, openly called for the public to cast blank votes on his personal social media accounts, claiming that it's part of "long-term fight." 

From the nomination period to the election, it's defined as the election period, the ICAC said, vowing to strictly enforce the law and crack down on any behavior of sabotaging the election.